(7) Iris
ephemeris	date	magn	radius	delta	ra	dec	elong	phase
Today	29 Jul 2026	11.4	2.791 AU	3.344 AU	11h34m	-01°51'	49.4°	16.0°
Opposition	25 May 2027	9.5	2.889 AU	1.876 AU	16h05m	-23°11'	177.7°	0.8°

The interactive orbit chart above shows the body's path through the solar system and its position at the given date. Green and blue lines are shown perpendicular to the ecliptic plane: Green if the path is above the ecliptic plane, blue if it is below. (Left-click and drag to rotate the view; Right-click and drag to move the view; Use scroll wheel to zoom in our out.)

The orbital elements of Iris are:

            e (Eccentricity)                : 0.2302746
            a (Semimajor axis)              : 2.3857463
            i (Inclination)                 : 5.51857
            Ω (Longitude of ascending node) : 259.48510
            ω (Argument of perihelion)      : 145.40717
            M (Mean anomaly)                : 115.29166
            Epoch                           : 2026 Jun 09

            L (Longitude of perihelion)     : 225.01657
            B (Latitude of perihelion)      : 3.12983
            P (Orbital period in years)     : 3.68            
        

The light curve chart below shows the estimated development of the minor planet's magnitude.

The all-sky chart below shows the path of the minor planet over the same period as the light curve. The current position is marked yellow.

The following chart shows the path of the minor planet in the next few days. The field of view is optimized for (~10x50) binoculars and finderscopes.

Ephemerides:

Date       Time       RA (2000)    DEC (2000)    delta   radius  elong  phase   PA    magn
2026-07-29 00:00 UT   11 34 02.4   -01 51 60     3.344    2.791   49.4   16.0   117   11.4 
2026-07-29 22:03 UT   11 35 15.1   -01 58 45     3.355    2.793   48.8   15.9   117   11.4 
2026-07-30 00:00 UT   11 35 21.5   -01 59 21     3.355    2.793   48.8   15.9   117   11.4 
2026-07-31 00:00 UT   11 36 40.8   -02 06 45     3.367    2.794   48.2   15.7   117   11.4 
2026-08-01 00:00 UT   11 38 00.3   -02 14 11     3.378    2.796   47.6   15.5   117   11.4 
2026-08-02 00:00 UT   11 39 20.1   -02 21 39     3.389    2.797   47.0   15.4   117   11.4 
2026-08-03 00:00 UT   11 40 40.0   -02 29 10     3.401    2.799   46.4   15.2   117   11.4 
2026-08-04 00:00 UT   11 42 00.2   -02 36 43     3.412    2.800   45.8   15.0   118   11.4 
2026-08-05 00:00 UT   11 43 20.5   -02 44 18     3.423    2.801   45.2   14.9   118   11.4 
2026-08-06 00:00 UT   11 44 41.1   -02 51 55     3.433    2.803   44.6   14.7   118   11.5 
2026-08-07 00:00 UT   11 46 01.8   -02 59 35     3.444    2.804   44.0   14.5   118   11.5 
2026-08-08 00:00 UT   11 47 22.8   -03 07 17     3.455    2.806   43.4   14.4   118   11.5 
2026-08-09 00:00 UT   11 48 43.9   -03 15 01     3.465    2.807   42.8   14.2   118   11.5 
2026-08-10 00:00 UT   11 50 05.3   -03 22 46     3.476    2.808   42.2   14.0   118   11.5 
2026-08-11 00:00 UT   11 51 26.8   -03 30 34     3.486    2.810   41.6   13.9   118   11.5 
2026-08-12 00:00 UT   11 52 48.5   -03 38 24     3.496    2.811   41.0   13.7   118   11.5 
2026-08-13 00:00 UT   11 54 10.4   -03 46 16     3.506    2.813   40.4   13.5   118   11.5 
2026-08-14 00:00 UT   11 55 32.5   -03 54 09     3.516    2.814   39.8   13.3   118   11.5 
2026-08-15 00:00 UT   11 56 54.7   -04 02 04     3.526    2.815   39.2   13.2   118   11.5 
2026-08-16 00:00 UT   11 58 17.1   -04 10 01     3.536    2.817   38.6   13.0   119   11.5 
2026-08-17 00:00 UT   11 59 39.7   -04 17 60     3.545    2.818   38.0   12.8   119   11.5 
2026-08-18 00:00 UT   12 01 02.4   -04 25 60     3.555    2.819   37.5   12.6   119   11.5 
2026-08-19 00:00 UT   12 02 25.3   -04 34 01     3.564    2.821   36.9   12.4   119   11.5 
2026-08-20 00:00 UT   12 03 48.4   -04 42 04     3.573    2.822   36.3   12.3   119   11.5 
2026-08-21 00:00 UT   12 05 11.6   -04 50 09     3.583    2.823   35.7   12.1   119   11.5 

    Terminology:
            
    delta:  distance between minor planet and earth in AU
    radius: distance between minor planet and sun in AU
    magn:   magnitude (brightness) estimate    
    ra:     right ascension in hours (24h = 360deg)
    dec:    declination in degrees
    elong:  elongation in degrees (angle sun-earth-minor planet)    
    phase:  phase angle in degrees (angle sun-minor planet-earth)        
    AU:     Astronomical Unit (mean distance between earth and sun: 149597870.7 km
    

Orbital elements provided by the MPC (Minor Planet Center).
Calculations by a modified version of AAPlus, a C# implementation of the AA+ project by PJ Naughter from the algorithms presented in the book "Astronomical Algorithms" by Jean Meeus.
NGC2000 dso catalog and star labels from VizieR as provided by the Strasbourg astronomical Data Center.
Tycho2 catalog from the ESO archive.